Arrangement for aligning and connecting section of cylindrical members

ABSTRACT

An arrangement including a connecting sleeve whereby adjacent sections of cylindrical members such as columns, casing, piling, cassions, and other cylindrical members may be readily connected together and then driven into the earth from a location on land or from a fixed structure in a water-covered area or floating structure such as a floating platform, barge, structure, or ship. The aligning and connecting sleeve enables adjacent cylindrical sections or members to be readily aligned and connected together for subsequent driving into the ground.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Kees M. Verheul P. 0. Box 9582,Houston, Tex. 77011; Howard 1. Lorenz, 518 Ripple Creek, Houston, Tex.77024 [211 App]. No. 843,154 [22] Filed July 18, 1969 [45] Patented Nov.2,1971

[54] ARRANGEMENT FOR ALIGNING AND CONNECTING SECTION OF CYLINDRICALMEMBERS 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 173/131, 285/332 [51] Int. Cl E02d 5/28 [50] Field of Search173/131; 285/90, 332, 331, 386

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 570,890 11/1896 Baird285/332 2,454,557 11/1948 Jacobson 285/332 2,522,195 9/1950 Richardson285/331 3,107,107 10/1963 Guarnaschelli 285/332 FOREIGN PATENTS 11,8902/1896 Switzerland 285/332 Primary Examiner-James A. LeppinkAttorney-Jack W. l-lyden /0 p .204 v 20b ARRANGEMENT lFOR ALIGNING ANDCONNECTING SECTION OF CYLINDRICAL MEMBERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The field of the present invention relates toaligning and connecting adjacent sections of cylindrical members toenable them to be driven into the earth in a water-covered area or onland.

More specifically, it relates to a unique arrangement for enabling theadjacent sections to be quickly aligned and connected together to form acontinuous member that is to be driven into the ground.

2. Description of the Prior Art Driving casing, cassions, piling, orother cylindrical members into the earth has been long employed in themining, construction, salvage, and petroleum industries. In suchoperations, sections or lengths of the members to be driven are addedsuccessively in end to end relation as the piling is driven into theground to form a continuous pile, cassion, casing, or other cylindricalconductor.

The sections or lengths are usually connected, one at a time, to theportion that has been driven into the earth by means of collars or bymeans of welding of the adjacent sections or lengths together.

Where no attempt is to be made to retrieve the driven column ofcylindrical members, slip-on collars may be used for connecting adjacentsections or lengths of cylindrical members together.

Threaded collars can be and have been used to connect or join adjacentcylindrical members together in such operations. Heretofore, this has insome instances necessitated rotating the entire section or length thatis being attached relative to the portion of the cylindrical membersthat have already been driven into the ground. This operation is timeconsuming and can under adverse circumstances be difficult. For example,it can be appreciated that exact alignment between the section beingadded and the string of sections already driven is necessary to avoidcross threading at the threaded connection and subsequent problemsincluding misalignment resulting therefrom. In some situations, properalignment is difficult and time consuming even where the driving of thecylindrical members is to be accomplished from the land surface of theearth, or from stable barges located in sheltered or placid waters.Also, as the section being added is lowered for connection, it is notalways possible to stop downward movement of the section at the desiredlevel for proper connection. In such event, the section being loweredmay strike the upstanding part with which it is to be joined thusjamming the weight of the section against the upstanding part, or thesection may swing against the upstanding part which may damage eitherthe section or the upstanding part or portion with which the section isto be joined.

It can be appreciated that alignment problems may increase where it isdesirable to drive cylindrical members into the earth in submerged areasfrom various floating structures such as vessels, barges, or ships. Itcan be appreciated that under some circumstances the floating vesselsmay be moved somewhat, or even violently, depending upon wave action,currents, tides, surges, and the wind.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON The present invention aids in overcoming someof the problems attendant with aligning and connecting tubular sec tionsor cylindrical members together where such is to be accomplished inwater covered areas that may be subject to possible vertical and/orhorizontal motion of the vessel caused by the water and wind.

More particularly the arrangement includes, in addition to a desiredconfiguration on the ends of the cylindrical members, an aligning andconnecting sleeve which is carried on the stabbing end of thecylindrical member which is to be stabbed and connected with the portionor string of the cylindrical members that are projecting upwardly fromthe ground into which they have been driven and above the surface of thewater. The aligning and connecting sleeve enables the cylindrical memberwhich is to be added to the string and then driven into the ground to bemore readily aligned with the portion of the string which has alreadybeen driven into the ground and the connecting sleeve may be moved toengage the end of the string and then the stabbing end of thecylindrical member may be engaged with the upwardly projecting threadedend of the string. Such arrangement requires only the rotation of theentire section and also includes a means for locking the sleeve after ithas been threadedly connected with the upwardly projecting end of thestring so that during sub sequent impacts to drive the added cylindricalmember into the ground, the sleeve will not become disengaged.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a cylindricalmember constructed and arranged to aid in aligning and connecting thecylindrical member with similar sections or lengths of cylindricalmembers whereby they may be driven in water-covered areas.

A further object is to inhibit damage either to a member or to theupstanding string of members with which the member is being joined orconnected.

Another object is to provide an arrangement for connecting a member to astring of members, wherein the member being connected may strike or hitagainst the upper end of the string without necessarily damaging eitherthe member or the upper end of the string of members.

Yet a further object is to support a connecting sleeve on a member to belowered into position for connecting with a string of members, so thatrelative movement between the connecting sleeve and member may occurshould the sleeve strike the end of an upstanding cylindrical memberwith which the sleeve and member on which it is supported is to beconnected.

Still a further object is to provide an arrangement to accommodatepositioning and alignment ofa member relative to the upper end of one ormore members when the connecting part of the member and the member ormembers with which the member is to be joined are in end to end abuttingrelationship.

More particularly, a tapered bowl is formed on one end of thecylindrical sections, or members, and a stabbing tapered pin is providedon the other end of each of the sections, or members, which is adaptedto be fitted within the tapered bowl. The end of the cylindrical membersor sections which carries the stabbing tapered end is provided with ashoulder for supporting a connecting sleeve thereon which extendsdownwardly around the tapered end and is spaced radially relative to thetapered end. The connecting sleeve may be aligned with the upper end ofthe string of members which has been aligned with the upper end of thestring of members which has been previously driven into the ground, andthe connecting sleeve and cylindrical member on which it is supportedthen lowered so that the tapered stabbing pin is seated within the bowlwhereupon the connecting sleeve may be rotated to connect the twoadjacent members together.

This enables large diameter and/or heavy tubular members to be alignedand connected more readily even when operating in adverse conditionssuch as high winds, or when operating from a floating structure whichmay be subject to surface motion or winds.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a connectingsleeve for adjacent cylindrical members which sleeve aids in aligningthe member to be added with the portion of the string which has beendriven into the ground.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an alignmentand connecting sleeve on one end of a cylindrical member which is to beadded to a string of cylindrical members which has been successivelyconnected in end-to-end relation and driven into the ground, whichalignment and connecting sleeve may be moved relative to the cylindricalmember on which it is supported so as to initially telescope over theupwardly projecting end of the cylindrical members previously driveninto the ground so that the cylindrical member being added maythereafter more readily telescope into the upwardly projecting portionof the string and the sleeve rotated to connect them together.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an alignment andconnecting sleeve for cylindrical members of a particular configurationwhich includes lock means to lock the sleeve in position after it hasbeen rotated to connect the cylindrical members together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a diagrammatic illustrationshowing a barge with a rack thereon for supporting sections, or lengths,of cylindrical members and a well means in the barge or vessel tosupport one of the sections in position for lifting and connecting intothe section. The drawing also shows a plurality of cylindrical membersthat has been engaged and driven into the ground with one of thecylindrical members of the present invention elevated and ready to belowered, aligned, and connected with the upwardly projecting end of thestring which has been driven into the ground in a water-covered area;

FIG. 2 illustrates in sectional view, and somewhat diagrammatically, theupper end of the string of members shown in FIG. 1 which has beenpreviously driven into the ground with the members to be added theretoimmediately thereabove along with the connecting sleeve;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view, but somewhat similar to FIG. 2 inthat it shows the aligning and connecting sleeve lowered over theupwardly projecting end of the string prior to telescopically abuttingthe ends of the cylindrical members;

FIG. 4 shows the relationship of the cylindrical member to be added tothe string to the upwardly projecting string after it has beentelescopically abutted therein;

FIG. 5 shows the relationship of the cylindrical members and thealigning and connecting sleeve after the connecting sleeve has beenmoved to its final, locked position to retain the cylindrical membersengaged;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the lower portion of a conventional dieselhammer with a form of an adapter for use with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the lower portion of a hammer prior toconnecting the adapter thereto; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Attention is first directed toFIG. 1 of the drawings wherein a cylindrical member constructed inaccordance with the present invention is represented generally by thenumeral 10 and is shown as being supported on a rack 11 on the barge orvessel 12 which is floating in the water 13. A well or opening withinthe vessel as illustrated at 16 is provided for receiving one of thesections 17 of the present invention whereby the sections may be movedfrom the pipe rack 11 one at a time to the well 16 for subsequentlifting and connecting into the string as will be described in greaterdetail.

Each of the cylindrical members which is to be connected together inend-to-end relation is provided with a tapered bowl representedgenerally by the numeral 18 formed on one end of the cylindrical memberand a tapered stabbing end 19 formed on the other end of the cylindricalmember. As illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings, an aligning andconnecting sleeve represented generally by the numeral 20 is carried onthe end of the cylindrical member adjacent the tapered end 19 to aid inaligning the tapered end 19 for being received within the tapered bowl18 on the end of an adjacent section.

As more clearly illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the tapered bowl18 may be a separate annular member which is secured to the cylindricalmember 10 by suitable means such as the annular weld 18a. Similarly, thealigning and connecting sleeve 20 is carried on the annular flangeformed adjacent the end of the cylindrical member 10 and may be formedon the tapered pin 19 which may also be a separate annular member whichis then secured to the other end of the cylindrical member 10 bysuitable means such as the annular weld 19a.

This arrangement provides a shoulder 21 which in effect is one end ofthe cylindrical member 10 adjacent the inner end of the taper on thebowl 18 and a shoulder 22 which is the outer end of the tapered bowl 18.Similarly, the end 23 of the tapered end 19 provides a shoulder as doesthe radially projecting flange 25, such shoulder being designated by thenumber 26 thereon for engaging and abutting on the shoulder 22 formed onthe outer end of the bowl 18 when the adjacent cylindrical members aretelescoped together as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings. Thus, when anyimpact is imparted to the upper end of the cylindrical member 10 whichhas been added to the string, it is directed downwardly therethrough andinto the string of connected sections of pipe represented by the numeral30 in FIG. 1 of the drawings to drive them into the ground.

In order to aid in retaining the aligning and connecting sleeve 20engaged as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings, at least one nut andpreferably a plurality of circumferentially spaced nuts, one of which isshown at 32, is threaded through a threaded opening in the aligning andconnecting sleeve 20 for engaging the lowermost thread formed on thetapered bowl 18 to aid in retaining the sleeve in threaded engagement asthe blows are delivered to the upper end of the cylindrical member beingadded to the string.

If desired, a circumferentially extending recess 34 may be providedbeneath the threaded surface referred to generally by the numeral 36 onthe outer surface of the tapered bowl 18 so that the ends of the nuts 32may fit thereinto.

It will be noted, as better illustrated in F IG. 2. that the aligningand connecting sleeve 20 is provided with an opening 200 which issomewhat larger in diameter than the outer diameter of the tubularmember on which it is to be received, and a shoulder 20b formed on theinner end of the aligning and connecting sleeve 20 is adapted to rest onthe shoulder 20c formed by the upper end of the radially projectingannular flange 25 formed on the tapered end 19 as shown in the drawings.

It will also be noted that the aligning and connecting sleeve 20 whiledepending downwardly to surround the tapered end 19, is also radiallyspaced therefrom to provide ample clearance for initially engaging thelower end of the aligning and connecting sleeve 20 about the upper endof the tapered bowl 18.

In this regard, attention is directed to FIG. 2 of the drawings whereinthe aligning and connecting sleeve 20 on the lower end of cylindricalmember 10 is shown as resting on the upwardly projecting end of thestring 30 to which the section having the connecting and aligning sleeveis to be added.

It can be appreciated that when the section or length of tubular memberis being lowered to be added to the string, it is not always possible tostop the downward movement of the section to be added at the exact,desired level. Thus, if the sleeve 20 contacts the upper end of theupwardly projecting string 30, the string 30 is supporting only theweight of the sleeve 20 and not the entire weight of the length ofcylindrical member to be added. Therefore, some additional downwardmovement of cylindrical member 10 may occur without deleterious effect.Also, even with the aligning sleeve 20 resting on the upper end of thestring, it can be moved or pushed to the position of FIG. 3 since onlyits weight and not the entire weight of the section is resting on theupper end of the string 30.

It can be appreciated that when driving large diameter or heavy tubularmembers in water-covered areas, the vessel from which the operations arebeing conducted may be subjected to wind as well as wave action, thuscausing some difficulty in properly aligning the members for connection.

The construction and arrangement of the sleeve 20 is such that itprovides a portion 20d which is unthreaded at its lower end, and in viewof the fact that the opening 20a is somewhat larger in diameter than theouter surface of the cylindrical member upon which the sleeve 20 iscarried, it may be moved about even though relative movement, bothvertical and horizontal, is occasioned between the member being addedinto the string 30 of members 10 which has been previously connectedtogether to form the string 30. Under such conditions, or generally evenwhen there is no substantial relative movement caused by wind or waveaction, the aligning and connecting sleeve is first positioned relativeto the tapered bowl 18 as illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings so thatthe unthreaded portion d is telescoped over the threaded surface 36formed on the exterior of the tapered bowl 18. Once the relationship ofFIG. 3 is established, the member 10 which is being added may then belowered so that the annular tapered surface 19a may be guided into thetapered bowl 18 to abut the ends 26, 22, 21, and 23, respectively.

Circumferentially spaced openings 40 are provided adjacent the upper endof the connecting and aligning sleeve 20 so that the sleeve 20 may thenbe rotated by engaging any suitable means therein to rotate the sleeveto lock the tapered end 19 in the tapered bowl 18. A lock means in theform of the nuts 32 may then be moved inwardly to engage beneath thelowermost thread formed on the bowl l8 and engaged within the recess 34to prevent disengagement of the locking sleeve 20 as impacts aredelivered to the upper end of the member 10.

i It can be appreciated that suitable conforming threads 20s are formedon the inner surface of the aligning and connecting sleeve 20 forengaging with the threaded surface 36 formed on the exterior of thetapered bowl 18 as previously described.

In use of the present invention, a suitable frame arrangement asrepresented generally by the numeral 50 is provided on the vessel orbarge 12, and a suitable power source is provided for raising andlowering the hammer represented by the numeral 60 by means of the cable61 which extends upwardly over a sheave (not shown) at the upper end ofthe frame 50. The hammer 60 is provided with an adapter, as will bedescribed, for engaging with the threaded surface 36 on the tapered bowl[8 on the cylindrical member 17 within the well 16 whereby it can beelevated to the position illustrated by the numeral 70 in FIG. I of thedrawings.

Attention is first directed to FIG. 7 wherein the lower portion of ahammer 60 used in such operations is referred to generally by thenumeral 61.

In FIG. 6, an adapter 70 is provided with slots 71 which may be alignedwith openings 72 and a rod 73 inserted therethrough as also shown inFIG. 8. The upper end 74 of the adapter 70 abuts the element 75 throughwhich blows are delivered to the adapter 70, section 17, and string whenthey are connected. The hammer 60 is of well-known construction andforms no part of the present invention.

The adapter 70, after connection with the hammer 60, may be threadedlyengaged with the section 17 in the well 16 to enable it to be elevatedas shown in FIG. I. The adapter is actually a portion of one of thecylindrical members which has the stabbing end 19 and connecting andaligning sleeve 20 carried thereon as shown in FIG. 6. It can beappreciated that the adapter 70 will be of the same diameter as thesection 17 and the string 30 to which it is to be added.

Guide shoes 76 are mounted in the lower end 61 of hammer 60 as wellknown in the art to accommodate cylindrical members ofdifferentdiameter.

One of the advantages of the present invention is that it eliminates thenecessity of rotating an entire section of a cylindrical member tothreadedly engage it with the upper end 82 of the string 30 aspreviously described.

Also, as previously noted, ifthe sleeve 20 hits the upper end 82 ofstring 30 as a section 17 is being added, only the weight of theconnector sleeve 20 is rested on the upper end, thus reducing thepossibility of damage to the section 17 being added, or to the upper endof the string 30. Furthermore, once the sleeve has been moved, oraligned so that it drops around the upper end ofthe string 30 as shownin FIG. 3, subsequent misalignment due to wave or wind action islessened.

Thereafter, the connector sleeve 20 may be rotated to lock the sectionbeing added with the upper end of the string 30, and then the hammer 60operated by means well known in the art to drive the string 30 furtherinto the ground.

Also, this arrangement enables the blow from the hammer 60 to bedelivered from the adapter directly to the string 30 since all shouldersbetween the section 17 which is added and the string 30 are abuttedafter the new section is joined in the string 30 as described.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention areillustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size,shape, and materials as well] as in the details of the illustratedconstruction may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

I. An arrangement for aligning and connecting elongated members to bedriven into the earth comprising:

a. a tapered bowl formed on one end of the elongated members to beconnected together;

b. threads formed on the exterior of said bowl;

c. a tapered end formed on the other end of the elongated members forseating within said tapered bowl of an adjacent elongated member;

d. an annular shoulder formed on the elongated member adjacent the innerand outer ends of said bowl;

e. an annular shoulder formed on said tapered end for abutting saidshoulder on the outer end of said bowl when the tapered end is seatedwithin said bowl and engaged against said shoulder at the inner end ofsaid bowl;

. an additional shoulder formed adjacent said tapered end and projectingoutwardly therefrom;

g. an aligning and connecting sleeve: resting on said additionalshoulder, said connecting sleeve surrounding said tapered end and spacedradially therefrom; and

h. threads formed on the inner surface of said sleeve for engaging withthe threads on said bowl to maintain said annular shoulders in abuttingrelationship for transmitting a driving force through the connectedelongated members.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said sleeve includes openingstherein whereby said sleeve may be engaged and rotated to threadedlyengage adjacent cylindrical members together.

3. The invention of claim I wherein said tapered bowl is formed in aseparate annular member and secured to said cylindrical member bywelding and wherein said aligning and connecting sleeve is an annularmember having an opening through which said cylindrical member extendsand wherein said tapered end is a separate annular member secured tosaid cylindrical member by welding after said sleeve is placed on saidcylindrical member.

4. The invention of claim 1 including means for locking said sleeve onsaid bowl when they are engaged.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said lock means includes at leastone nut threaded through said sleeve for engaging beneath said threadsformed on said bowl to retain said sleeve in threaded position thereon.

6. The invention of claim 4 wherein said lock means includes acircumferential groove in said bowl into which said nut may be engaged.

7. An adapter for connection with a hammer to deliver a blowlongitudinally of an elongated member including:

a. means for releasably engaging the adapter with the hammer;

b. means for releasably engaging the adapter with an elongated member towhich a hammer blow is to be delivered; and

c. said adapter including:

1. a tapered portion formed adjacent one end thereof for fitting in atapered bowl on the elongated member;

2. a shoulder formed adjacent said tapered end and projecting radiallytherefrom;

3. an additional shoulder formed on said tapered portion, each of saidshoulders abutting the elongated member; and

l ee

Lazar-t K0- 3,6l6, 866 Dated November 2, 1971 I..V\...LLJJ(J KEES M.VERHEUL and HOWARD I. LORENZ is certified that error appears in thenbovc-identified patent w- .41.; said Lc'ctezs Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

On the cover page, after "7 Claims", change "3" to --8. On the coverpage, after "Attorney Jack W." change "Hyden" to Hayden.

Signed and sealed this 18th day of April 1972.

( SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCRER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

1. An arrangement for aligning and connecting elongated members to bedriven into the earth comprising: a. a tapered bowl formed on one end ofthe elongated members to be connected together; b. threads formed on theexterior of said bowl; c. a tapered end formed on the other end of theelongated members for seating within said tapered bowl of an adjacentelongated member; d. an annular shoulder formed on the elongated memberadjacent the inner and outer ends of said bowl; e. an annular shoulderformed on said tapered end for abutting said shoulder on the outer endof said bowl when the tapered end is seated within said bowl and engagedagainst said shoulder at the inner end of said bowl; f. an additionalshoulder formed adjacent said tapered end and projecting outwardlytherefrom; g. an aligning and connecting sleeve resting on saidadditional shoulder, said connecting sleeve surrounding said tapered endand spaced radially therefrom; and h. threads formed on the innersurface of said sleeve for engaging with the threads on said bowl tomaintain said annular shoulders in abutting relationship fortransmitting a driving force through the connected elongated members. 2.The invention of claim 1 wherein said sleeve includes openings thereinwhereby said sleeve may be engaged and rotated to threadedly engageadjacent cylindrical members together.
 2. a shoulder formed adjacentsaid tapered end and projecting radially therefrom;
 3. an additionalshoulder formed on said tapered portion, each of said shoulders abuttingthe elongated member; and
 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein saidtapered bowl is formed in a separate annular member and secured to saidcylindrical member by welding and wherein said aligning and connectingsleeve is an annular member having an opening through which saidcylindrical member extends And wherein said tapered end is a separateannular member secured to said cylindrical member by welding after saidsleeve is placed on said cylindrical member.
 4. The invention of claim 1including means for locking said sleeve on said bowl when they areengaged.
 4. an aligning and connecting sleeve resting on said radiallyprojecting shoulder for maintaining said shoulders in engagement withthe elongated member to deliver a blow longitudinally of the elongatedmember.
 5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said lock means includes atleast one nut threaded through said sleeve for engaging beneath saidthreads formed on said bowl to retain said sleeve in threaded positionthereon.
 6. The invention of claim 4 wherein said lock means includes acircumferential groove in said bowl into which said nut may be engaged.7. An adapter for connection with a hammer to deliver a blowlongitudinally of an elongated member including: a. means for releasablyengaging the adapter with the hammer; b. means for releasably engagingthe adapter with an elongated member to which a hammer blow is to bedelivered; and c. said adapter including: